Questions related to energy are becoming more and more important. These centre on challenges such as security of supply, climate change, sustainability and competitiveness. Foreign policy has an important part to play in this connection.

Multilateral institutions and instruments such as the International Energy Agency, the IAEA, the International Energy Forum and the Energy Charter are of particular interest to Switzerland.

The European Union is one of Switzerland’s most important partners for questions of energy policy.

The Federal Department of Foreign Affairs collaborates closely with the responsible specialist bodies within the Federal Department of the Environment, Transport, Energy and Communications (DETEC, the Federal Office for Energy) and the Federal Department of Economic Affairs (the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs and the Federal Office for National Economic Supply). This makes it possible to obtain an overview of Swiss energy policy, promoting coherence in foreign policy in this field.